Grazing in the courtyard outside
the barn of trainer Kathy Ritvo, Mucho Macho Man looked none the worse for wear following his dramatic runner-up
finish as the favorite in Saturday’s $750,000 Woodward.

Making his first Grade 1 start
since the 2011 Belmont Stakes, the multiple graded stakes winner shook off some
early traffic trouble to come up a neck shy of winner To Honor and Serve
following a thrilling stretch run.

“He’s doing very good. You can’t
win them all,” Ritvo said. “He ran a good race. He’s just over there chilling,
eating grass. We didn’t get a perfect trip yesterday, but he came back great and
that’s the most important thing. He didn’t give up. He tried really hard.”

Boxed in along the rail by Stay
Thirsty in the early part of the race, Mucho Macho Man swung out to take on
front-running To Honor and Serve at the top of the stretch but could not get by
the winner.

“Whatever anybody was going to
do, they were going to do. It’s race riding,” Ritvo said. “I think he’s going to
learn a lot from the race. When he finally got off the rail, he started
running.”

Ritvo said the Grade 1 TVG Jockey
Club Gold Cup on September 29 at
Belmont
Park remains an option for Mucho Macho
Man, who is being pointed to the Breeders’ Cup Classic in November at Santa
Anita.

“He ran a great race; a winning
race,” owner Dean Reeves said. “He just didn’t get the trip. We’ll try them
again somewhere.”